European Market Indexes Advance, Spain's Producer Price Deflation Extends to 20th Month

Bridgette Randall
25 Nov, 2024
London

Stock market indexes in Europe advanced and extended previous week's gains as investors debated future rate paths amid a weakening economic backdrop.

Benchmark indexes in Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, and London edged higher, and the euro struggled near a three-year low as private sector activities remain depressed and consumer spending growth muted. 

Global markets have been volatile over the last three weeks as investors worry about the U.S. trade policy uncertainty under the next administration, rising trade tensions with China, and deepening Russia-NATO war in Ukraine. 

This week, investors are looking forward to the release of preliminary inflation reports in the eurozone, Spain, France, and the Netherlands.

In Germany, investors are looking forward to the release of retail sales, unemployment, and the consumer confidence index. 

 

Spain's PPI Deflation Extends to 20th Month In October 

Spain's producer price deflation extended to the 20th month in a row in October, the National Statistics Institute reported Monday. 

The annual producer price inflation declined to 3.9% in October, following a 5.2% fall in the previous month, driven by a decline in energy prices of 13.9% compared to a fall of 16.9% in the previous month. 

Excluding energy, producer prices rose 0.4% in October, matching the rate in the previous month. 

 

Europe Indexes and Yields

The DAX index increased by 0.4% to 19,407.29; the CAC-40 index rose by 0.2% to 7,269.86; and the FTSE 100 index advanced by 0.2% to 8,276.55.

The yield on 10-year German bonds edged higher to 2.26%, French bonds inched up to 3.06%, the UK gilts edged higher to 4.38%, and Italian bonds increased to 3.52%.

The euro edged lower to $1.04; the British pound inched down to $1.24; and the U.S. dollar strengthened to 88.95 Swiss cents.

Brent crude decreased $0.21 to $74.96 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas rose by €1.05 to €47.94 per MWh. 

 

Europe Stock Movers

Anglo American plc increased 1.9% to 2,403.0 pence after Peabody Energy agreed to acquire the company's coal mines in Australia for $3.78 billion. 

Atos SE soared 115.7% to €0.34 after the French government proposed to acquire advanced computing activities included in its BDS unit for €500 million. 

Airbus SE increased 0.7% to €138.94 after the company launched its second tranche of stock buyback program totaling about 2.1 million shares between November 25 and January 24, 2025. 

Kingfisher plc plunged 14% to 253.53 pence after the home improvement retailer lowered its profit outlook. 

Commerzbank declined 5.4% to €14.52 after German finance minister Joerg Kukies said Italy-based UniCredit is not likely to go ahead with its plans to acquire the bank because of objections raised by the German government. 

Automakers advanced following reports that China and the European Union are nearing a solution to avoid tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China. 

Mercedes-Benz Group advanced 0.1% to €52.30, BMW gained 0.6% to €68.22, Volkswagen AG fell 0.2% to €81.64, and Renault SA decreased 2.7% to €39.22.